Spices and Herbs - [9 articles]

 

An illustrated reference of culinary spices and herbs added to food to enhance its flavour. They take the form both of things cooked with food, and those added to food once cooking is completed.

Chefs know that using spices and fresh herbs can add that extra zest and sparkling flavour to mundane recipes. This section isn’t meant to be an exhaustive treatise on the use of spices and herbs, rather, we want to provide the knowledge on some of the more popular spices and herbs that many cooks may find helpful. This knowledge will give you a quick start to using spices and fresh herbs in your own culinary creations.

A spice is defined as any part of a plant other than the leaf, and may be the buds, bark, roots, rhizome, berries, seeds or stigma. Most spices are dried, many only acquiring their distinctive flavours by the enzymatic reactions triggered in the curing process. Their flavour is often heightened by dry-roasting.

 

A herb is defined as a plant whose green parts, usually the leaves, but sometimes the stalks, are used. For eons, herbs have been used for medicinal, cosmetic and culinary purposes; here only the last-named is considered. Herbs are used fresh or dried. When dried, the water is removed, leaving the essential oils which give the herb its flavour, effectively concentrating the flavour of the herb. Generally about one-third the amount of a dried herb equates to its being used fresh. However, fresh and dried herbs are not always interchangeable; most dried herbs lose their fresh “top notes” and those with especially volatile oils lack their key flavour.

Humans have been using spices almost as long as they’ve been eating. Just as classic recipes evolved, so did spice blends and mixtures. By making your own mixes, you can adjust flavours to suit your personal needs. There are literally hundreds of spice mix combinations on the market. We have included a selection of the most popular blends from around the world.

Allspice

Posted on the 3rd of Nov 2009

Allspice takes its name from its aroma, which smells like a combination of spices, especially cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg, hence the name ‘wonderpeper’ (marvelous pepper) in Afrikaans. It’s produced from the unripened dried berries of an evergreen tree native to Caribbean regions...

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Aniseed

Posted on the 3rd of Nov 2009

Aniseed (Pimpinella anisum, also anìs (stressed on the second syllable) and anise) has small sage green to yellow ochre crescent-shaped seeds similar to caraway in appearance, with a distinct sweet though not overpowering liquorice flavour. Aniseed is native to the Middle East and is widely cultivated in temperate regions of northern Africa, Greece, southern Russia, Malta, Spain, Italy, Mexico, and Central America...

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Bay Leaves

Posted on the 3rd of Nov 2009

Bay leaves refer to the aromatic leaf of the Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis, Lauraceae). Fresh or dried bay leaves are used in cooking for their distinctive flavour and fragrance. The leaves are often used to flavour soups, stews, braises and pâtés in Mediterranean Cuisine...

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Cayenne Pepper

Posted on the 3rd of Nov 2009

Cayenne pepper is a finely ground powder prepared from the seeds and pods of various types of chilli. As most powders are blends, the names of the varieties used are not very important. The capsicums used are the small-fruited varieties: thinnish tapered seed pods up to 12 cm long and 2.5 cm in diameter...

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Dill

Posted on the 14th of Nov 2009

Dill has a sweet and aromatic bouquet; the taste has a hint of caraway and is slightly, but by no means unpleasantly, bitter. Indian or Japanese dill is thinner and paler than its Western counterpart...

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Garlic

Posted on the 14th of Nov 2009

Garlic is indispensable in many cuisines. Before preparation, a whole clove has only a mild bouquet; it is only marginally stronger when sliced, but it has a very powerful flavour with a lingering aftertaste and aroma once chopped or crushed...

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Horseradish

Posted on the 15th of Nov 2009

Horseradish is a long, rough, tapering root, not unlike a parsnip, with rings, and tiny roots sprouting from the main root. Horseradish is sold fresh, but is more often available grated. Dried, flaked and powdered horseradish is also sold and this retains its pungency more fully than the grated form which is stored in vinegar...

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Turmeric

Posted on the 5th of Nov 2009

Turmeric (Curcuma longa), also called borrie, is a rhizome (swollen underground root) that’s brilliant golden orange inside with orange-tinged tan skin. Borrie in South Africa is chiefly used in curries, pickled fish and sosaties and for colouring yellow rice...

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Vanilla Bean

Posted on the 5th of Nov 2009

Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia) is the only orchid that produces edible fruit, in the form of long thin pods. Native to Central America, vanilla has a long history of use in that region, especially for flavouring Mayan and Aztec spiced drinking chocolate...

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